why does my hair seem to damage so easily?

[Chocowalnut]

I take pretty good care of my hair unlike in the past- I never bleach or use chemicals in my hair anymore. When I do blow dry which is not often, I use the cool setting. I condition it a lot (I do wash pretty frequently as when I stretch washes my hair is intolerable). I use heat tools sometimes but maybe just once every 2 weeks or so. I feel like many girls do a lot worse than me and have much healthier looking hair. Is it just because my hair is pretty thin and curly? Or am I really doing a lot more damage than I think?

[Zesty]

You have fine, curly hair. Your hair type is just more susceptible to damage, so you have to be extra careful. Other factors could come into play as well. How recently did you stop using bleach/chemicals? Could there be residual damage? How are you handling your hair? Are the products you're using working for your hair type? Etc. There are probably things you could change to help the problem.

Also, are you taking about split ends and such or are you just dissatisfied with shine/softness/etc?

[lapushka]

Agree with Zesty. :agree: How long has it been since you quite the bleaching? That might still be in there and you might be seeing the consequences of that.

[Johannah]

How long ago did you bleach your hair/use chemicals? Damage that's done, is done. You can't change it. If you've bleached your hair ONCE, it stays damaged. Plus, straightening curly hair every 2 weeks is quite a lot when your hair is fine. Cut out the heat damage. Have you tried hydrolyzed protein already?

[GetMeToWaist]

I would suggest you don't use any heat except very occasionally but otherwise not. There are lots of heatless methods that can actually give you the same effect :) look up hair wrappin while wet and caterpillar banded ponytails for heatless straightening, sock bun and rag curls, rope braid waves and fishtail waves, headband curls... You may also need to clarify and quit using silicones and sulfates if you do use them. Coconut oil can help, wearing hair up a lot.

[Chocowalnut]

Thanks for the wonderful tips. What is hydrolozed protein? I haven't bleached/dyed my hair in 2 years, and chopped most of that hair out since then. I have used that color oops stuff a couple times though in the past year, but that supposedly isn't damaging at all, containing only sulfur. I have hennad a few times in the past year and used a semiperm deposit only dye once. That's it. I do have a little of the once bleached hair remaining. That does seem like the most damage part. I have seen white dots and some split ends recently that was my main concern. And sometimes my hair is really soft and shiny but a lot of times it also can look dull and feel dry/unsoft, so it's really unpredictable which I hate probably more than anything. I need consistency haha.

[spidermom]

I blame heat styling.

[Agnes Hannah]

My hair is uber fine and has a slight wave, I have used hair dye on it, but only semi permanent. I used to use a hair dryer, but have never used straighteners. Since joining LHC, I have not used a hairdryer, and only colour my roots now. Before applying hair dye, I use lots of coconut oil to minimise the damage, but I know there will be some inevitably,but that is my tradeoff. I WCC, the method used by Lapushka, which is also good for wavier, curly girls too. This may help you. I put my hair up everyday in protective styles, and at night use sleep braids and a silk cap. All of these things have helped me get from APL to waist. Yes I have damaged ends, the taper is noticeable, but I no longer have damage breakage so have solved that issue. Also my ends do not have any splits which is suprising really. I am going to start to micro trim now as I have been non trimming for just over 12 months.
Any heat treatment you do will cause damage which is cumulative. As i mentioned I colour my roots, but I do not refresh the ends, and protect it as much as I can. Even so I am causing damage and have to deal with that. I use a serum on the ends to protect, and baby it as much as possible. You also have damage, and you may need to protect and baby it with extra care, like very very fine antique lace. I use handmade combs, one is horn, and I have a couple of BBB's that I am going to incorporate into my hair routine as Madora recommends. Good luck with your hair growing, it is simply about dealing with the damage, minimising it as much as possible and treating your hair delicately. Have you tried the curly girl routine? This routine is specifically for those with curly hair and there are some good tips on their thread to help with your hair type.

[AlKhazzaR]

Honestly I have never bleached, never dyed and last time used hair dryer when i was kid (yeah too lazy for that) and due mine single strand is baby fine they still get damaged easily.In your matter i believe using heat may be the cause, and hair bleached earlier doesn't magically get their structure back to healthy, you can make them look like that with oils, silicones etc but still they will be more damage prone.

Have you tried silicone serums/ natural oils after washing in little amount to prevent breakage? From when I take care of this step daily mine hair break much less, it's still not perfect but it is how they are and can't change it, if you had same problem before bleaching maybe it's just their nature? Every hair is different but you may have type similar to mine in this matter.

Btw: if you try silicone serum option be sure it has no alcohol denat in ingredients-it can dry out damage prone hair and cause even more split ends instead preventing them.

[Panth]

I take pretty good care of my hair unlike in the past- I never bleach or use chemicals in my hair anymore. When I do blow dry which is not often, I use the cool setting. I condition it a lot (I do wash pretty frequently as when I stretch washes my hair is intolerable). I use heat tools sometimes but maybe just once every 2 weeks or so. I feel like many girls do a lot worse than me and have much healthier looking hair. Is it just because my hair is pretty thin and curly? Or am I really doing a lot more damage than I think?

Quite frankly, it's because genetics doesn't give a damn about "fair". If you have delicate hair it's never going to be as resilient and resistant to bleach, dye, heat styling, etc. as someone whose hair is really strong. Tough luck, you missed the genetic lottery - maybe you wish it was otherwise, but there's nothing you can do to change it.

As for why your hair is damaged:
1) It's wurly and fine - i.e. two conditions that naturally make it more damage prone and more in need of delicate, gentle care.
2) Bleach. How long is your hair? If it's collar bone length, as your profile suggests. If you grow the average 1/2" a month. If you did last bleach exactly 2 years ago. ... then there's still bleached stuff on your head. 1/2" / month growth x 2 years = ~12" hair. That's somewhere just before shoulder length. Measure it. Anything beyond about 12" is likely bleach-damaged.
3) Heat. Heat damage is CUMULATIVE. Doesn't matter if you "only" use it twice a month, it is never ever going to fix itself and if you keep doing it it's going to bite you sooner or later. Probably sooner as you don't have genetics on your side. If you had super-strong hair (e.g. thick, coarse and straight) and/or only wanted a bob then you could probably get away with it. However, with long hair (longer to accumulate damage) or fine/curly/thin/otherwise easily damaged hair, you're on a one-way ticket to damaged and unmanageable hair.

[jeanniet]

Heat every two weeks is a lot of heat over time. I'd be very surprised if that isn't most of your problem right there. Do what you can to cut out the heat (use it at most a few times a year, and even then think hard about it first), and you'll start to see an improvement, but you'll have to grow out the existing damage to really get back to healthy hair.